Transcript: The patterns and motions of the stars in the night sky can be used for navigation. In the Northern Hemisphere the stars all appear to move about a fixed point in the sky called the Northern Celestial Pole. There happens to be a fairly bright star in this direction called Polaris. The elevation of Polaris above the horizon gives your latitude on the Earth’s surface. For thousands of years navigators have been able to use the motions and patterns in the night sky to navigate. Islanders in small boats in the South Pacific were able to travel distances of several thousand miles with an accuracy of fifty or sixty miles purely using the motions and patterns of the night sky.